Dementors
by GuidingHand
Summary: Dementors are the happiest creatures on Earth! The darkness and emptiness left behind means little more to them than the cow remains from our cheeseburgers means to most of us. This is a symposium of scientific articles about dementors, the history of dementors and excerpts from their daily lives.
1. Needs and Destruction

**Needs and Destruction**

_By Alexandros Ruino_

_Master of Magical Creatures_

_Chicago, IL_

* * *

In order to survive species seek out their needs. For most of us those needs include food, water, shelter, and air. As humans, we also often have need of energy. In pursuit of these needs we leave a train of destruction…

…mis-treated farm animals,

…polluted lakes and streams,

…deforested landscapes,

…CO2 laden air.

Many care little for the destruction left in their wake.

Dementors are the same, seeking their own needs with little to no regard for the destruction they cause. They have no need of water, food or shelter. Their need is happiness. Happiness is their energy source, their food, their means of reproduction. To them, the shell of human they leave behind is like the carbon released from cars while driving, it is just a bi-product of the car and though some talk the talk, few actually choose to walk. The need is fulfilled and the damage done is ignored.

Dementors seek their happiness, their need, ghosting from person to person, stealing thoughts, those oh so delicious happy memories…

…picnics,

…quiditch games,

… days at the beach,

… pranks on friends,

…the ever popular knock, knock joke…

On and on the list goes.

We, of course, find the creatures terrifying as they bring to mind our worst memories. Bringing forth horrible memories is a hunting technique. While the human is distracted with what troubles them the dementor is able to consume good memories. The depressed human or empty shell left behind is, in their mind, comparable to the empty plate we leave at the end of a meal.

* * *

_I wrote this article not to diminish the travesty of their effects on humans, but to enlighten the public as to the dementors motives. Just as methods have been found to minimize our effects on the environment, perhaps methods are yet to be discovered on how to provide dementors with their need while minimizing or negating their effects on the human population._

* * *

_Originally Printed in Chicago Wands the leading provider of magazines to muggleborns and their families._


	2. Buffet Lottery

**The Buffet Lottery**

_By Betty Eaton_

_Executive Director of the Lottery Commission_

* * *

In most cases dementors just go to the fridge for a snack (a prison cell for a memory). But now and then they get the whole smorgasbord, they're off to the buffet to eat all they please (take a soul). The dementors of Azkaban enter themselves in the lottery. Only the lottery winners get to eat at the buffet, but oh what a meal! Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of delicious happy memories to explore!

But a poison sometimes lurks at the buffet, a poison of a bright light*. In the most dangerous of cases, it is shaped like an animal. Though happy memories are what dementors crave, an explosive, happy memory is more than they can stomach. Think of it as a small child, delighting in drawing their name with sparklers, but screaming in fear of the big fireworks in the sky. A lot of a little is delightful, but too much all at once is overwhelming.

* * *

*The patronus spell is used to chase away dementors. It appears as a shield of bright light. Some mages are capable of creating a coporal patronus (animal shaped light). The witch or wizard casting the spell uses happy memories to create the light shield or corporal patronus.


	3. Why do Dementors work at Azkaban?

**Why do dementors work at Azkaban?**

**By Faun A.Y. Orebraid**

**Historian of Magical Creatures and their Interactions with Magical Humans**

Long, long ago dementors roamed the Earth. They'd swoop through a town pausing by people to drink the sweet nectar of their happy memories. Many grew greedy and withdrew not just memories, but entire souls.

The dementors were sated and giggled happily as they mated, bringing more dementors to bare. But with more mouths to feed a problem arose. The dementors would roam the towns seeking sweet memories, but there were few to none to be found. They'd drank the towns dry. The few people that remained with happy memories in the towns were the witches and wizards able to produce patronuses. Those that could produces patronuses began to set up wards against the dementors around the towns.

The dementors held a meeting and as desperate times lead to the few real changes in the world, changes were about to be made. Very few children attended this meeting as few could survive the famine.

As you may know, dementors make no noise, they have no need to as they use telepathy both to steal memories and to communicate. Typically, the communication is only from dementor to dementor, but in these drastic times it was decided to use telepathy to tell witches and wizards of the dementors plan to protect their species.

These are the goals and plan they devised at their meeting.

Goals:

Obtain happy memories

Be happy

Don't let our species die out

Plan:

Offer to restrict our diet to prisoners

Move to Azkaban

Set up a lottery; lottery winners are allowed to devour the souls of specified prisoners as directed by wizards

A dementor delegation telepathically communicated this plan to witches and wizards within the government. The plan was agreed on and the dementors traveled to their new home, Azkaban.

For the past 873 years this agreed upon plan has been in effect. Many in the wizarding world disagree with the use of dementors to guard prisoners and take souls. Some of these people have even begun to devise wards that could be used around the prison. But few if any have considered what to do with the displaced dementors. The last thing the public needs is dementors roaming free. All suggestions on how to deal with this conundrum are welcome and may be sent by writing them at the bottom of this page and touching your wand to the word send.


	4. Dementors Appearance

**Dementors Appearance**

**By Grace Hinge**

**Director of Fashions Effects on the Wizarding Population**

Dementors are not a depressing sad folk, well they make humans feel that way, but they themselves are quite cheerful. Don't let the dark cloaks and scary hands and mouth fool you! Those are necessities, *just as a grindylow needs tentacles to catch its prey and a phoenix needs wings to soar, the freighting appearance of dementors is a necessity too. It causes people to be fearful and if they are afraid, then witches and wizards will struggle to produce patronuses, which are like spoiled clams to dementors.

As the person quivers in fear, they think only of what is wrong with their life as the dementor saps away all that is good. So as a tip, if you encounter a dementor close your eyes as you bring forth good memories to assist in conjuring your patronus.

* * *

*For those of you unfamiliar with magical creatures, here is a muggle comparison.

Those are necessities, just as a bear needs fur to keep warm and a lion needs sharp claws to catch zebra

the freighting appearance of dementors is a necessity too.


End file.
